Avian influenza outreach efforts ramp up for fall and winter, Sept. 10

Oregon’s backyard bird owners alerted that migratory waterfowl are on the move again. Migratory waterfowl potentially carrying a highly pathogenic bird flu virus are about to begin the annual trek south over Oregon and other states in the Pacific Flyway. That means it’s time for the Oregon Department of Agriculture to step up its outreach and education efforts to backyard bird owners whose flocks might come in contact with wild waterfowl over the fall and winter. The messages haven’t changed much from earlier this year when ODA and its partners embarked on outreach following two separate detections of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in backyard birds in Douglas and Deschutes counties, but those messages bear repeating. “Getting the word out about practicing good biosecurity is important 12 months a year, but fall and winter are especially critical because migration of waterfowl is taking place,” says ODA Avian Health Coordinator Madeline Benoit. “The cold and wet weather ahead of us actually helps the virus to survive better and with a lot of people hiking or hunting in the fall, they could unknowingly track the virus home on their shoes and spread it to any backyard birds they might have.” Outreach efforts ramped up following last December’s detection of HPAI in a flock of backyard birds in Douglas County.